The invention relates to a vehicle that is configured for transporting at least one crane as well as ballast weights for weighting the crane, wherein the ballast weights can be moved between a transport position situated on the vehicle and a usage position provided on the crane.
Cranes are needed, for example, at construction sites to transport heavy and unwieldy loads there from the site of manufacture or delivery to the specified installation sites. Various cranes have already been provided, which can be moved in a more or less pre-mounted state to the particular construction site.
Thus, in the IGO MA 13 brochure of Manitowoc Crane Group, a U.S. firm, a crane is described that is fixedly mounted on a vehicle trailer with a tandem axle. The crane fixedly mounted on the vehicle trailer can thus also be moved quickly over widely dispersed routes to the particular construction sites. On the crane previously known, in the corner areas, crane support feet are provided, which can be lowered on the ground by means of integrated mechanical heavy-load winches so that the crane can be lifted and directed to the vertical, until the wheels provided on the tandem axle lift away from the ground. Fixed assembly of a complete chassis frame on the crane known previously known, and configuring this crane as a vehicle trailer, also involve considerable expenditure and high cost.
From Manitowoc Crane Group's IGO 32 prospectus, a crane is also already known that can be assembled into a transport position that places a transport axle configured as a tandem axle under the assembled crane and can be secured. On the end area facing a tractor cab, a trailer coupling is provided such that the crane, assembled and fixed so as to rest temporarily on the transport axle for carriage, can be moved practically as a semitrailer to the construction site. The previously-known crane having been placed at the construction site, aligned and put into operation, the transport axle is detached from the crane and temporarily stowed somewhere else at the construction site, until the transport axle again has to be mounted beneath the crane again as required for being hauled away. Since the transport axle cannot be moved solely for itself and advantageously employed otherwise, transportability involves considerable expense and high cost with this crane also. This expense is made still greater in that the required ballast weights must be driven separately by at least one additional person.
DE 90 15 296 U1 describes a vehicle configured as a mobile crane. The previously-known vehicle comprises a truck, which is configured in the manner of a tractor-trailer. On the truck, a revolving tower crane can be semi-mounted with its base frame in the manner of an interchangeable open body. To be able to load and unload the revolving tower crane from the truck, support arms deployable outward horizontally are provided on its base frame. So that the revolving tower crane belonging to the previously known vehicle can also lift loads over its outriggers situated on the frame, the crane frame is counterweighted with appropriate ballast weights. These ballast weights must be transported independently of the previously known vehicle and the revolving tower crane already found thereon with the aid of another vehicle, and then be transferred with difficulty from this other vehicle onto the crane frame and then shifted back.
From DE 1 278 708 A a transportable revolving tower crane with a chassis is known, which is equipped with a slewing track ring, with which the inner end of a simple mast consisting of multiple telescope-like deployable parts is connected, which carries an outrigger on the exterior end. This outrigger is balanced by a counterweight, which can be folded back onto the frame for transport by means of an arm that can pivot about a horizontal axis and can be locked with it. With the revolving tower crane previously known from DE 1 278 708 A, the counterweight is intended merely to balance the outrigger. Therefore, the counterweight can be configured to be small enough so that the counterweight stowed during transport beneath the frame in its direction transverse to the usual weight-carrying direction does not overload the frame. Especially with a larger revolving tower crane, to be able to balance loads lifted above its outriggers, additional ballast weights are possibly required, which however cannot be stowed and transported beneath the frame during travel. Therefore, transport of additional ballast weights makes an additional vehicle necessary with the revolving tower crane previously known from DE 1 278 708 A, wherein here also the ballast weights must then with difficulty be moved from this auxiliary vehicle to the revolving tower crane and placed. Since the counterweights intended to balance the outrigger are only able to be folded back onto the frame and locked with it, and since with the revolving tower crane previously known from DE 1 278 708 A no ballast-hoisting device is provided, by means of which ballasting weights could be moved and placed between a transport truck on the one hand and the revolving tower crane on the other, transport and assembly of the crane involves considerable expense with the revolving tower crane previously known from DE 1 278 708 A.
A movable tower crane is already previously known from GB 1 415 928 A, which has a non-rotating platform that is connected via a slewing track ring to a rotating platform, which rotating platform carries the crane pillar of the tower crane. In addition, the previously known tower crane exhibits a horizontal outrigger, a ballast and a front and rear pair of wheels that are attached to the non-rotating platform, on which support arms with hoisting devices are situated. To be able to move the previously-known tower crane with its full ballast both in a set-up state and in a folded up state over possibly uneven ground, without critical weight distributions occurring which could overload the wheels of the crane and could lead to their blocking and to premature wear, provision is made that a wheel frame with support wheels at a distance from an articulated axle is attached to the crane pillar, such that in the stowed position of the crane with a horizontally folded-up crane pillar the support wheels are placed on the ground behind the rear pair of wheels. Due to the chassis frame with the support wheels, the rear pair of wheels, which can constitute the driving wheels, are largely unloaded, so that the crane can easily be transported in self-propelled fashion not only in its set-up state, but also when stowed with its ballast.
A running gear unit is previously known from DE 199 58 691 A1 which is equipped with at least one wheel axle or wheels and is provided for a wide-overhang high-elevation crane, wherein the previously known running gear unit has a chassis frame to which the high-elevation crane is or can be attached. To significantly improve the maneuvring capabilities in constricted conditions at the set-up location, and also allow the previously-known running gear unit to move about the set-up location, the previously-known running gear unit is configured so that the high-elevation crane in maneuvring operations can be horizontally pivoted relative to the at least one wheel axle, and can be fixed in two or more different rotating positions relative to the chassis frame, wherein a plurality of wheel axles, which can be steered independently of each other, need to be provided on the chassis frame.
Also disadvantageous with these previously-known tower cranes and the running gear unit provided for them is that the chassis frame is mounted in a fixed fashion on the previously known crane, which involves considerable expense and high costs.